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Developer Tools · head to head

Bazel vs Very Good Security

Bazel logo

Bazel

Developer Tools

Multi-language build system with fast, correct incremental builds

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Very Good Security logo

Very Good Security

Cybersecurity

Tokenisation proxy that keeps card and personal data out of your own systems and out of PCI scope

From
$1000/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bazel has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Bazel steep learning curve for developers unfamiliar with build systems; Very Good Security vGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • They diverge on capability: Bazel covers Fast incremental builds, Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bazel and Very Good Security actually diverge.

Attributes where Bazel and Very Good Security differ
AttributeBazelVery Good Security
Starting priceFree$1000/month
Pricing modelopen-sourcePer month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWeb, API
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Bazel

  • Fast incremental builds
  • Multi-language support
  • Distributed caching
  • Parallel execution
  • Dependency analysis
  • Starlark extensibility
  • Cross-platform support

Only in Very Good Security

  • Aliasing proxy
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Network tokenisation
  • Processor optionality
  • Card issuing data
  • Vault and access controls
  • Data residency options
  • Compliance artefacts

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Bazel

  • Building large monorepos with hundreds of interdependent projectsnot Very Good Security
  • Multi-language projects requiring consistent build semanticsnot Very Good Security
  • Organizations requiring reproducible builds and hermetic test executionnot Very Good Security
  • Teams implementing distributed CI with shared build artifact cachingnot Very Good Security

Very Good Security

  • A marketplace facing its first PCI DSS Level 1 assessment that wants to keep card data off its own estate rather than harden a dozen servicesnot Bazel
  • A merchant negotiating with a second acquirer that needs card credentials portable so the negotiation is real rather than theoreticalnot Bazel
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity documents that wants sensitive fields absent from logs, backups and analytics warehouses by constructionnot Bazel
  • A card issuer that must display a full PAN in its own mobile app without the app or its backend touching cardholder datanot Bazel

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Bazel

  • Steep learning curve for developers unfamiliar with build systems
  • Initial setup complexity; requires BUILD files and Bazel configuration
  • Verbose error messages can be difficult to debug for new users
  • Smaller community and fewer third-party integrations vs enterprise tools

Very Good Security

  • VGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • Token portability is the whole selling point yet leaving VGS means migrating tokens back out, a project the vendor has no incentive to streamline, so the lock-in you removed from your acquirer partly moves to VGS.
  • Entry pricing at around one thousand US dollars a month is real money for a pre-revenue fintech, and it buys volume-limited throughput, so cost scales with exactly the growth that made you buy it.
  • Scope reduction is not scope elimination: your QSA still assesses how you integrate, and teams regularly discover that a support tool or an internal admin screen pulled plaintext back in and dragged systems into scope again.
  • Proxy-based interception constrains how you design request flows, and non-standard payloads, streaming uploads or binary formats often need custom routing rules that make debugging production issues noticeably harder.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bazel

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Bazel review.

Very Good Security

$1000/month
  • Starter$1000/month
    • Aliasing proxy
    • Vault storage
    • PCI scope reduction
  • Growth$undefined/month
    • Network tokenisation
    • Multiple processors
    • Data residency options
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom vault architecture
    • Dedicated support and SLA
    • Contractual compliance coverage

Which should you pick?

Choose Bazel if

  • You need fast incremental builds.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want multi-language support.
Bazel review

Choose Very Good Security if

  • You need aliasing proxy.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want pci scope reduction.
Very Good Security review

Questions people ask

Is Bazel or Very Good Security better?
Neither clearly leads. Bazel starts at Free and Very Good Security at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bazel or Very Good Security?
Bazel has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bazel and $1000/month for Very Good Security.
Does Bazel or Very Good Security run on more platforms?
Bazel runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Very Good Security runs on Web, API.
Can I use Bazel for free?
Yes. Bazel has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Very Good Security starts at $1000/month.
What is Bazel best used for?
Bazel is most often used for building large monorepos with hundreds of interdependent projects, multi-language projects requiring consistent build semantics, organizations requiring reproducible builds and hermetic test execution, teams implementing distributed ci with shared build artifact caching. Of those, building large monorepos with hundreds of interdependent projects and multi-language projects requiring consistent build semantics are not what Very Good Security is typically brought in for.
What can Bazel do that Very Good Security cannot?
Bazel covers Fast incremental builds, Multi-language support, Distributed caching, Parallel execution. Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy, PCI scope reduction, Network tokenisation, Processor optionality.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bazel: Does Bazel support distributed builds across CI infrastructure?

Yes, Bazel supports distributed execution and remote caching, allowing build work to be distributed across multiple machines and CI agents.

Source
Very Good Security: Does VGS make me PCI compliant?

No. It removes cardholder data from your systems so your assessment covers a far smaller boundary, but you still complete an assessment and your integration is part of it.

Bazel: What languages can be built with Bazel?

Bazel has built-in support for Java, C++, Go, Python, and Android/iOS development, with additional language support available through custom rules and community extensions.

Source
Very Good Security: Can I move to another processor without re-collecting cards?

Yes, that is a core reason people buy it. The vault reveals stored credentials to whichever processor you route to.

Bazel: Can I use Bazel for small projects or is it only for large monorepos?

While Bazel excels at handling large projects, it can be used for smaller codebases. However, the setup overhead may not be justified for very small or simple projects.

Source
Very Good Security: What does it cost?

Published entry pricing is about one thousand US dollars per month; growth and enterprise tiers are quoted.

Very Good Security: Is it only for card data?

No. The proxy handles any sensitive field, including bank details, national identifiers and documents, though payments is where the product is now focused.

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